EnergyAnchorage · August 11, 2026
anchorage wants to burn your trash
Anchorage officials are planning a waste-to-energy plant at the Eagle River landfill that could power about 20,000 homes.
Daily Alaska staff · August 11, 2026 · Anchorage
The Municipality of Anchorage is drawing up plans for a waste-to-energy plant that would be built inside the existing footprint of the Anchorage Regional Landfill near Eagle River. Solid Waste Services director Kelli Toth says the project could fundamentally transform how the city manages its utilities.
The facility would burn household trash to drive steam turbines, generating 20 to 30 megawatts of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of about 20,000 homes. The idea gains urgency as Southcentral Alaska faces uncertainty over its natural gas supply.
Burning the waste would also shrink landfill volume by roughly 90 percent, stretching the landfill's usable life by decades. The city says it could avoid replacing an aging sewage incinerator, an upgrade estimated to cost $75 million, and the process would eliminate methane emissions from buried waste. Metals left in the ash would be recovered for recycling.
No funding has been approved. A financial plan for the project is expected to go before the Anchorage Assembly in May 2027. If it moves forward, construction could begin in 2030, with the plant operational by 2032.
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Evidence
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Claims and where they come from
- The waste-to-energy plant would generate 20 to 30 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 20,000 homes. · adn.com
- Burning the trash would reduce landfill volume by about 90 percent, extending the landfill's life by decades. · adn.com
- The city could avoid replacing an aging sewage incinerator, saving an estimated $75 million. · adn.com
- A financial plan for the project is expected before the Anchorage Assembly in May 2027. · adn.com
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